TEL AVIV, Israel, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- In a Release Being Distributed Today to Over 100 Countries, Picaphone Website Calls the Public Worldwide to Enter the Site and Participate in the Creation of the World's First International Telephone Directory and Email Database

Today http://www.picaphone.com launched one of the biggest international projects on the Web - the world's first international phone book. In today's press release in over 100 countries around the globe, the public is invited to participate in the new Internet project, in order to create, for the first time ever, an international telephone directory that is open to all, and that will enable users to make free phone calls to any place in the world.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090602/349073 )

The site will allow immediate access to any phone number and email address that users may need, anywhere in the world, thereby ending the dependence on the exclusivity of information that phone companies currently enjoy in every country. In addition, users will no longer need the services of the phone companies to make calls and will be able to do that through the site - without any cost. This is a conceptual revolution affecting the entire telephony market around the globe, which will break the phone companies' monopoly of the market.

From day one, the site will be available in 12 languages, covering 91% of the world's population: English, Chinese, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Hebrew, and Japanese. The future objective is the translation of the site into all languages. Users will enter their information in their own language and in English, to enable international information searching and sharing.

This innovative project is the initiative of Ori Shaked of Israel, and is financed by the Shaked Family Foundation, among the founders of the successful Internet companies 888.com, an Internet gaming site traded on the London Stock Exchange, and shvoong.com, a global web knowledge sharing platform, available in 34 languages.

Ori Shaked, the site's founder, says, For the first time, the http://www.picaphone.com site will allow everyone convenient, free and fast access to phone numbers of individuals and companies all over the world, without requiring the information services of the telephone companies and having to pay for them. The success of this ambitious project depends on the cooperation of web surfers all over the world. The target is to reach millions of users within the first few months.

Website address: http://www.picaphone.com

For more information, please contact: Dan-Oren, Strategy and Public Relations Office +972-3-613-1222 Maly Cohen-Braier, cell phone +972-52-696-1625 Amir Dan, cell phone +972-52-696-1621

For more information, please contact: Dan-Oren, Strategy and Public Relations, Office +972-3-613-1222, Maly Cohen-Braier, cell phone +972-52-696-1625, Amir Dan, cell phone +972-52-696-1621